StormClan: Shadowfang
by Estia
Summary: When one exiled apprentice creates her own Clan, nothing is the same anymore, and her new 'StormClan' discover a secret that should've been kept that way for another century.


**StormClan: Shadowfang**

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**When one exiled apprentice decides to create her own Clan, things get carried away and her new 'StormClan' ends up revealing a secret that should've stayed hidden for another century.**

**---**

The pearly silver she cat yawned, revealing a row of glistening white fangs. Her dark green eyes blinked open as she flicked her ears. Beside her, a pale brown tabby slept fitfully, her tail curled over her paws. The silver she cat nudged her friend in a half-hearted attempt to wake the sleepy she cat, though she knew it was useless.

Surprisingly, the brown tabby lifted her head groggily, sight still blurred by sleep.

"Get up, Duskpaw," hissed the silver she cat, staring anxiously at the entrance to the apprentice's den. "Stonewhisker could be here any minute!" Stonewhisker was Duskpaw's mentor. He was a serious, dark gray tom with amber eyes and white whiskers. The two didn't get along very well, as Duskpaw was a cheerful, comedian type of she cat whereas Stonewhisker was extremely no-nonsense.

One can only wonder why they were made mentor and apprentice.

That made Duskpaw sit up. Usually, if the pale, amber-eyed tabby was late for training, Stonewhisker would threaten her with the thought of no fresh-kill. If you knew Duskpaw, then you knew that mice were the love of her life.

Quickly, she gave her pelt several swift licks, complaining all the while that she wouldn't be 'presentable'. Her black-striped companion merely purred in amusement. Duskpaw stretched, her supple muscles flexed under her sleek coat, making ripples dance across the dark brown-striped, pale brown surface. Her tail curled in pleasure as the warm heat seeped through, slowly restoring the energy she'd lost through sleep. Amber-ocher eyes glowing with liveliness, the silver she cat knew that her friend had recovered from her bout of whitecough.

"So, what's new, Frostpaw?" she asked cheerfully. The silver she cat laughed, relishing the sound of Duskpaw's voice after hearing it cracked and filled with sickness for several moons. She'd never thought that she would miss it so much. Flicking her ears sharply, she meowed,

"Not much, but you missed Rosekit, Ebonykit, Sweetkit, Mischiefkit, _and_ Aquakit's apprentice ceremonies." Duskpaw gaped.

"All of them are females except for Ebonykit!" she sputtered. Frostpaw nodded, her muzzle twitching at the corners in amusement. The pale brown tabby's eyes glittered. "Well, I bet he's just longing to get back to the nursery." Quite the contrary, the handsome, pure black Ebonypaw was enjoying all the attention that was lavished on him as the she cats first discovered toms. Frostpaw smirked but said nothing. The rays from the sun cast a light sheen across her pelt, setting it ablaze with a silver fire. It was just like life. One tiny ember on the wrong thing would cause an explosion. Wait.

_The sun._

Then, she jumped. Without another word, she leaped across the camp clearing and, panting, greeted her mentor, Lightstep.

Lightstep was considerably pretty, with her soft light golden fur and endless green eyes. Her body was lithe, surpassing even the pickiest tom's highest standards. Her delicate, perfectly formed figure was neat and proportioned. With a slight purr of amusement, she kinked her feathery tail over her back and raced towards the training grounds. Even her stride was smooth, graceful, and effortless. She seemed to be gliding, paws barely crunching the golden leaves. Her pelt was flowing in the sharp wind, and her paws were fleet against the ground. Frostpaw looked at herself.

She was just a plain, silver she cat with black stripes; nothing special. Her mother had insisted that her eyes were a striking, iridescent shade more vibrant than the forest itself, but Frostpaw could find many faults with her ordinary, dull green eyes.

"Lightstep, please don't say we're going to learn and hunt mice!" Frostpaw complained as her mentor led her to a deeply forested area. The light golden she cat smiled apologetically, and almost pityingly. Hissing, Frostpaw slashed deep gouges across the surface of the earth in frustration. The older golden she cat looked on with annoyed disapproval.

"Calm down. Learn patience, or else I may have to delay your warrior ceremony," she cautioned. Although she was inwardly seething, the apprentice dipped her head respectfully.

"Right," she responded curtly.

With practiced ease, she dropped into a smooth hunting crouch, her paws positioned lightly so she would send vibrations though the ground and alert the prey. Swiftly, silently, she crept up upon a tiny, unsuspecting brown mouse who was sitting on its chubby haunches, nibbling on a nut of some sort. Frostpaw pounced, ensnaring the creature in her silver paws and giving a quick bite to the neck. Proudly, she lifted the catch.

Albeit grudgingly, Lightstep nodded her approval.

*

Mentor and apprentice dropped their catches into the steadily declining fresh kill pile. Then, they trotted to their respective dens. On Frostpaw's way, she suddenly collided with the Clan leader, Breezestar.

He was an infamous black-gray tom with pale, steady blue eyes that seemed to pierce straight to your soul. His paws were massive and his tail long and thick. His body was muscular, sleek, and powerful. His most distinguished feature was the white dash across his underbelly, which earned him his name. He was hot-tempered and easily irritated. Several of his ideas had been rejected by the other three Clans with disgust. One of them was the prohibition of she cat's becoming apprentices. He wanted all to become queens, or more specifically, his queens.

Frostpaw had snuck to the Gathering when the idea was proposed and remembered the exact decisions of each Clan leader, word for word.

Birdstar, leader of WindClan, and her deputy, Greenfeather, had been quick to disagree. Birdstar had said, _'No matter what gender, each cat should have their own say in their decisions.'_, and Greenfeather had nodded his mottled ginger head in consent, his handsome green eyes glowing in the gloom.

Foxstar, leader of ShadowClan, and his deputy, Ocherpelt, were hasty to agree. Both males, they'd growled,_ 'It's about time she cats learned their place in society.'_

Surprisingly, Rosestar of RiverClan, and her deputy, Krestrelheart, had agreed as well. This was most unusual, for Rosestar was a female, and surely she didn't want her status revoked? But right after, she'd explained her reason to be,_ 'I never wanted to be a deputy, but I wanted what was best for my Clan. I'd much rather have been a queen._'

So it was three against one. The new law was about to become part of the code, when StarClan sent clouds to cover the moon. It was an obvious sign that they didn't wish for it to be. Frostpaw - or Frostkit at the time - had smirked in agreement.

"Watch where you're going," she snarled, not even bothering to hide her anger, or bow her head in respect. Breezestar took it as a sign of a belligerent apprentice challenging his position. He growled lowly and flexed his claws, preparing for the fight that was sure to come.

Frostpaw hissed out her challenge as well, tired of being stuck where younger cats had no power, and could be ordered around by older warriors, deputies, leaders, queens, or even elders.

_We deserve to live our life the way **we** want to._

With that resolve, she feinted a lunge. Breezestar sensed it, and, eyes glittering with a malicious intent, slashed her unprotected left side. A large gash appeared on her side, oozing crimson liquid. It stood out, clear as daylight against her bright silver pelt. Though it wasn't a deep wound, it was wide, and for a younger cat like Frostpaw who's endurance hadn't built up, forced her to recoil in pain. She rasped her tongue across the edges, clearing the blood away. While she was unable to defend herself, the massive smoky gray tom struck again, and Frostpaw just narrowly avoided being swiped across the throat.

_Keep your chin down_, she advised herself.

The rest of the cats had crowded around now as well, some looking on with eagerness while others, like her mother, Emberpelt, and her father, Rainshadow. Others included Duskpaw, Mischiefpaw, Aquapaw, Flamepaw, Hawkpaw, Serenepaw, and Rapidpaw.

Breezestar lunged again, fangs snapping at where the silver apprentice's tail was just a heartbeat ago. She was now airborne and whatever happened in those few heartbeats were out of her control.

The ThunderClan leader ripped her out of the sky and pinned her to the gritty earth.

She spat out a clump of dirt.

Caterwauling in triumph, he extended a claw and tore at her face.

The mangled silver she cat's blood-curdling scream filled the ThunderClan cat's ears, as well as Breezestar's yowl of,

"Frostpaw is now banished from this Clan!"

And these two thoughts rolled inside her head.

_Just because I snapped at you?_

And,

_You nearly murdered a barely apprenticed she cat for the sake of your pride. Why?_

_*_

She opened her eyes, trying to adjust to the brightness that filtered through the high canopy leaves. A gentle face loomed over her. Her throat dry and feeling as if it were coated with sand, she tried to speak but began coughing continuously. In a rush, the ginger figure rushed to a niche in the rock and dragged out a leaf that was filled to the brim with a sweet-looking golden substance.

"Drink," the masculine voice urged.

Eagerly, she complied. The sticky, thick liquid did wonders to her throat, clearing up the savage thirst almost instantly. Her eyes brightened.

"Thanks... but why, Sunpaw?" The last part was a mere whisper - a slight disturbance in the air. Yet somehow, somehow the former ginger medicine cat heard and nuzzled her head softly, hoping to calm her slight fever. He sighed loudly, the noise ricocheting off the walls of the cave and echoing back.

"Because. Because Breezestar wasn't right. He had absolutely no right to hurt an apprentice of his own Clan, let alone nearly kill her," he replied distantly, as if seeing something she couldn't. The answer satisfied her temporarily. She struggled to her feet, wincing as the long-unused muscles tightened with the effort. Slowly, though, her flexibility came back to her as she performed a series of moves that might've killed a cat without her skill.

"Ah," she purred, "So much better." Then, she trotted over to a pool of water to see how her wounds had healed - and gasped.

* * *

A fiery red tabby balanced primly upon a white wooden fence. She gazed into the windows, and her ears pricked at the mention of her name. She salivated. Almost simultaneously, Lady's humans called. The plump tortoiseshell swiped her tongue around her jaws, as if she were already tasting the delicious canned food. Her tawny-colored paws uncurled from beneath her, straightening, and she asked,

"So you'll come with me, right Cardinal?" The red tabby, Cardinal, hesitated, but then nodded. Lady's tail waved in a farewell before she disappeared completely into her cat flap. Cardinal stared out at the deep, intimidating forest, and for a second, she could've sworn she saw a cat leaping after a deer ... but cats don't eat deer, right?

A second call from her humans, and she was off again, bounding across the snow-white fence until she reached the other side.

She entered, ignoring the cooing from the small humans and squirming out of their reach. Only until she lapped up her food, tail curling with pleasure, did she allow them to pet her.

Cardinal sighed contentedly, purring softly much to the delight of the younger kits. But she would only tolerate it for so long, and quickly, she darted up the stairs into her room to sleep. She curled up in a luxurious pink bed, fluffy and warm. Tucking her tail in, she allowed sleep to consume her.

The red tabby was awaken by the sound of a blazing, crackling noise.

Startled, her crystal blue eyes snapped open and took in the scene. Flames of red and gold licked at the sides of her room, leaving sooty marks wherever it went. The house smelled of burning wood. With a screech, she darted out of her little room, alerting her humans on the way, before sprinting out the door, where the skies were clear and the air fresh. There, she licked at her scorch marks, and where the fire had touched her, it left a patch of burnt, sizzling flesh.

More humans were coming.

She knew what that meant. They were coming to take her away!

Her eyes flashed back and forth: house, or forest? Impulsively, she raced for the forest, her red tail like a banner.

* * *

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